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Hanzel
'''Hanzel' (ハンゼル, Hanzeru) is a powerful Quincy, a member of the Wandenreich and one of the most powerful Sternritters, being ranked among it's prestigious elite. Unlike most of his companions, Hanzel is an esteemed spell caster knowledgeable of most forms of magic, whether they be of mortal nature or otherwise. As a Nihilist, Hanzel cares little about the politics involved in the Wandenreich and is without any true opinion on his so-called king. Appearance Hanzel is a well-dressed gentleman. In addition to wearing the customary garments of a Quincy, he wears a long black overcoat with elegant trimmings. The coat extending past his knees and flaring out dramatically when he walks, judging by his constant smirk, he's fully aware of this effect and takes delight in it. His coat is evidently made of black velvet and his collar of embroidered silk. In his ears he wears two earrings, each one a perfect replica of the Wandenreich symbol. Considered a handsome man, Hanzel radiates a sense of confidence that many would consider unfit for a simple Quincy. His strong features, coupled with his sharp gaze often serving to make a lingering first impression. Whatever the reason, he does his best to appear pristine and unblemished. Looking into his ice blue eyes however, onlookers sometimes get a glimpse of something much more primal, suggesting that his appearance is only intended to detract from his true self. Oddly, his presence appears to make his surroundings change as he approaches, shadows flicker about in strange ways and the environment often appears to lose it's color, fading slowly into a blackened color. Personality As a man who follows the principles of nihilism, Hanzel doesn't believe that life has any meaning unto itself, lacking of any intrinsic purpose. He holds that while some people might be remembered past their death, those who are not will merely fade into oblivion, passing on and then being doomed to live their afterlives in the rukon districts of Soul Society. To Hanzel, being ordinary is not just a sign of weakness, but also of conviction - the world has no meaning, love has no meaning and even power has no meaning beyond what you might use it for. He holds that humanity, Shinigami and Quincy alike are all ultimately insignificant, like ants attempting to build colonies, for as with anything else, something bigger might come along to trample it all to pieces. Even heinous acts such as murder, rape and torture seem insignificant to Hanzel, and he posits that it's just the world running it's course. None of these actions are inherently evil, for evil is a mindset that's been conjured by people of no significance, as -all- beings, living or dead are or were insignificant in their time. Friendship is comforting however, but comfort too is without value to him. Feelings of Love and Hatred however are different, for they can force a meaning in a meaningless existence. Anyone who have achieved that, to forge a meaning of their own in a worthless world such as theirs deserves recognition in his eyes. While he might come off as affable, this is largely a front, because Hanzel’s beliefs and ideals have shaped him into a sociopath who kils as he pleases, justifying any death by him as having saved them from the pain of existence. In his eyes, the truest moment is a persons own death, and so he kills to witness that moment, even as he makes it happen in the most creative and gruesome ways imaginable. His victims never pass on peacefully, for Hanzel believes that a gentle reprieve lacks drama, which he considers essential to a worthy death. So deranged is he in his beliefs that he’s even resorted to calling killing his art at more than one occasion, with each murder a performance unto itself. The wise learn to avoid contact with Hanzel, for there’s no room for sympathy or acceptance of life within his heart, and so-called ’’friends’’ are among the first to find themselves on the chopping block, with Hanzel adoring to kill his friends for the sake of the added drama of betrayal. Such murders are his own personal masterpieces, and he frequently boasts about these kinds of accomplishments. Until he's dead and gone, Hanzel is certain to continue killing indiscriminately, civilian or soldier, man or woman, adult or child. It matters not, as long as he can make their demise a spectacle to behold. History Powers and Abilities Keen Intellect: Hanzel is an accomplished philosopher and an unusually sharp combatant, usually observing for a time before engaging. He's perceptive and is prone to notice flaws in techniques as well as having a penchant for figuring out a techniques deeper purpose, in this regard he is aimed greatly by his knowledge of reiryoku. Aside from the in-combat uses of his intelligence, he's also an adept learner, having grown by leaps and bounds in a relatively short time under the tutelage of his former master. His ability to grasp concepts, basic or advanced puts him squarely above the average individual. Reiryoku Absorption & Manipulation: The source of power for all Quincy is their ability to draw upon the spiritual energy found all around them. Hanzel has taken this a step further, for rather than combining these energies with his own, the way most of his kin does, he prefers to bask in it, letting it suffuse his very being. In doing so, he's capable of empowering himself in the middle of combat, using the absorbed reishi as a buffer of sorts, a secondary resource with which to adjust to his opposition. So great is his grasp on this core principle that he's known to destabilize and weaken his opponents techniques by focusing upon them. Rarely enough to destroy techniques outright, it increases Hanzel's options in battle and allows him to focus on offense as opposed to being dictated to employ Blut against every threat. The way he utilizes these talents of his sets him apart from many other Quincy, with some having noted that his ability to control ambient energy is closer to that of Shinigami spellcasters. From a theoretical perspective, Hanzel's knowledge of this subject enables him to successfully gauge someones power, including determining the precise amount of spiritual energy they possess and in the case of Shinigami, immediately determine whether or not that particular person has achieved Shikai or Bankai. All is plain to see for those who know where to look. But by far the most impressive aspect of this ability, is that Hanzel is capable of employing it offensively in a number of ways, the most impressive aspect of it all being that he can shape ambient reishi into projectiles rivalling the power of a Heilig Pfeil. These projectiles, labelled as Heilig Speers by Hanzel, are fit to pierce through most obstructions in their wake, and are likewise extremely destructive towards the bodies of spiritual beings such as Shinigami and Arrancar. A direct hit tears at their core and damages them severely, but fortunately for his opposition, although these projectiles have great speed, they lack the raw power of a true Heilig Pfeil, and are usually unable to kill a sufficiently powerful targets on their own. As a way of compensating for this however, Hanzel is capable of firing these continuously with little strain to his own reserves and can be fired separately from Hanzel's own attacks. Being directed by his concentration and willpower as opposed to actual gestures. High Spiritual Power: In comparison to most other members of the Wandenreich, Hanzel sports much lower reserves, being at most comparable to that of a Lieutenant-level Shinigami. This hardly bothers him, with his proficiency at absorbing and manipulating ambient energy, his own reserves hardly matter at all. Hanzel more than makes up for his relatively limited reserves by relying mostly on the energy of his surroundings and his opponent - but there's one thing he can accomplish with his own reserves that proves cumbersome with the energy he borrows. Hanzel's mastery of his own spiritual energy allows him to employ his own spiritual power to command the reishi he gathers elsewhere, allowing him to deflect attacks with pinpoint precision. These applications of his energy manifest as short-lived barriers of varying strength, all depending on the effort he puts into them. They're typically only strong enough to deflect one attack at a time, and usually require several layers before they can safely defend against actual techniques. When exerted, Hanzel's energy appears pure to the senses, completely unmarked by imperfections, every modicum of energy finely distilled and perfected. He wastes no energy accomplishing even the most arduous of tasks, and when he has to use his own reserves, he does so with maximized efficiency. Hirenkyaku Master (飛廉脚; lit. "Flying Screen Step/God Step"): Hanzel has mastered the Hirenkyaku to a degree few others have, by riding upon ambient reishi, he's capable of moving at tremendous speeds. To the degree that in combat, Hanzel fades between positions, only briefly vulnerable or visible. There's never a trace of effort to his movement, hardly ever a sign of movement to be found. To their eyes he appears to be standing still until the moment where he vanishes into thin air, appearing solidly a distance away. Hirenkyaku is considered to be superior to both Shunpō and Sonido in his eyes, for while they must make a concentrated effort, he can achieve similar speeds by the force of will alone. Furthermore, as his body is not physically moving as much as it's being carried from one position to the next: he's free to attack, defend or dodge as he pleases. While never truly breaking the cadence of his movement or exposing himself to the enemy. When one has attained a mastery of Hirenkyaku like his, one can evade and attack simultaneously. In battle, Hanzel does just that, enemies find themselves eradicated before they've the time to attack, whereas Hanzel conserves energy by only using his body to attack as opposed to evade or move. The degree of his talents is noted to be grand enough that he might ride upon the energy released by his opponents attacks, surrendering himself to the current of energy and letting his adversaries own techniques carry him to safety. It's said that the potency of Hirenkyaku is fully dependant on the Quincy's skill at gathering and manipulating ambient reiryoku, Hanzel's mastery in this field has molded him to become one of the fastest Quincy in recent history. Overall, he's proven himself capable of rivalling masters like Sui-Feng in terms of speed, while being rumored to outclass them in terms of sheer flexibility. As even in heated combat, Hanzel can move wherever, whenever and from any angle he'd like. *'Platform Manifestation': Whereas others have shown the ability to accomplish this, few are capable of using it to this degree. Hanzel is capable of manifesting flying platforms of great size, allowing him to carry a whole battalion if need be, a talent that allows him to gather reinforcements for his cause whenever the need may arise. The speed at which these platforms move being comparable to the size, smaller platforms can be moved at speeds rivalling his own, whereas the larger ones can only move at speeds equivalent to an expert. Hanzel's ability in this field is great enough that he's one of the few Quincy capable of utilizing the technique in spiritually lacking areas such as the Human World, although in cases like this it's size is much smaller. This essentially allows Hanzel to achieve a form of self-powered flight. Gintō Mastery Gintō Master: By far his greatest strength, Hanzel is an extremely adept user of Gintō. A system of Quincy magic thought to be archaic, and which has by and large been replaced over the course of history. His insistence at using Gintō perplexing his colleagues to no end. Immoveable in his pursuit of this art, Hanzel claims that whereas the magic of Shinigami commands spirits to unite into their spells, the magic of a Quincy is about structure, about creating something solid. Rather than conjuring forth something else, Gintō instead transmutes reishi into matter, and matter into reishi. Although Gintō is typically much less offensively-oriented than the spirit arts, Hanzel has discovered means to make it worthwhile eitherway. Following true to the evolution of Quincy teachings, Hanzel doesn't require Gintō tubes to cast his spells, instead relying solely upon his own spiritual energy, whose purity is enough to bring about similar effects. By utilizing his own spiritual energy as a catalyst, Hanzel is capable of achieving feats that rivals those of Kidō, albeit in different ways. An example being to manipulate the ambient reishi around him to vastly increase the strength and speeds of his attacks, or contrarily, weaken and slow the attacks of his enemies. Indeed, by bringing the flow of energy in a localized area to a grinding halt, Hanzel has even managed to emulate the effects of a localized Jikanteishi. Essentially freezing the area and preventing his opponent from ever reaching him. The applications of Gintō, although they might seem limited to most of his kind, still marks it as an art to be respected. Hanzel scoffs at the weaknesses of the modern magics, as even if Gintō cannot manipulate the elements as the arts of the Shinigami can, it's still more than capable of destroying an enemy. In battle, Hanzel rarely employs the art for direct offense, common spells are rendered obsolete as he turns the environment to his advantage, constructs are sculpted out of raw energy, providing traps, obstacles or defenses for his opposition to overcome. Even as they do their best to keep up with him, they find themselves struck down by javelins of light and bound in white chains, as for every step they encounter another obstacle, those who lack wit or intelligence never reach Hanzel, and are therefore unable to capitalize on his human weaknesses. Even those who somehow overcome this hurdle find that the depths of his arsenal are by no means so limited, and that the true fight has only just begun. Baum des Lichtes (木の自暴自棄, German for "Tree of Light", Japanese for "Tree of Self-Abandonment"): The crowning achievement of Hanzel's Gintō prowess is the multi-faceted spell known as Baum des Lichtes. Once invoked, the spell transmutes ambient reishi and spiritual energy into a massive tree, with branches like jagged bolts of lightning and tips who narrow out into spears. Each individual part of this construction hums with energy, and the edges of the branches are razor sharp. The tree is directed by Hanzel's will, and as long as there is reishi to sustain it, it will continue to grow, hunting for prey. Scouring the battlefield at his command, impaling his foes and feasting upon their reishi. Once they've imbedded themselves in a spiritual being, their victim becomes directly susceptible to his Sklaverei, allowing him to tear off large chunks of their spirit and use it to empower himself or the Tree of Light. The tree of light is voracious, and upon catching it's prey, it will suck them dry until nothing remains but an empty mound of skin and flesh. The Quincy is then free to direct this energy as he pleases, most commonly spent towards empowering Baum des Lichtes further. As the tree grows in size for each life it claims, it's an immensely powerful tool of war, and should it ever be released in the Soul Society the resulting havoc could be enormous. Because of his nihilistic outlook on life, Hanzel has few compunctions about casting this spell in tightly crowded areas, even if most of the residents are civilians. Albeit an extremely powerful weapon in it's own right, Baum des Lichtes is also versatile. For even in areas where it might not reach the optimal level of power - such as in the human world, Hanzel is still capable of manifesting lesser versions of it at will. These are singular branches that typically see their use primarily as traps or surprise attacks. Bursting out of the ground, nearby structures or in rare cases, even Hanzel himself, unwary opponents might find their chances of victory brutally crushed as a single branch finds it's way to their heart. Typically though, Hanzel prefers to create various seeds and scatter them across the battlefield, each field is a dormant spell, set to absorb ambient energy from it's surroundings to power itself. Once it reaches a certain point, it bursts free and becomes a small tree, which he can further manipulate to his designs. The Dark Each being, living or dead, spirit or human suffers from the same disease, inconsistency. There's weaknesses in each person, shadows in every heart and hypocrisy to even the most well-meaning individual. There's justifications to any crime, and an excuse for every criminal. Hardened assassins and criminals can justify their actions, they can lie to themselves until at last they've deluded themselves into accepting it as truth, but in the dark they cannot hide what they truly feel. After all, the one foe you can never hope to outrun is yourself. Yes, that is Hanzel's ability, a power born of circumstance and manifested by his own twisted mind. Through The Dark, Hanzel has the ability to force others to view themselves as they are, to look upon themselves and shatter their own delusions. It strips it's target bare and leaves only ruthless truth, young and old, strong or weak, none of them stand a chance when confronted with themselves. When they're subject to The Dark, both they and Hanzel relive the victims darkest memories, the darkest pieces of their mind, and for every vision, Hanzel brings the truth to the surface. Ruthless criminals fall to their knees sobbing, confessing all their crimes, anything to be released from the bitter truth of their action. In other words, Hanzel wields the power of conscience, and only those truly bereft of one are immune to his power. If there exists even a shred of shame in their mind, The Dark will force it to the surface. Yes, even can fall prey to the Dark, and ordinary as well. Hollows are torn souls, born from darkness and despair, their hollow hole is a testament to this, as they work to fill the void in their heart. They've got greater darkness than any other creature - and thus, whenever they're affected by The Dark, their entire bodies are seized and their minds are torn to pieces. With just a little effort, Hanzel can bend such creatures wholeheartedly to his will, he represents the Darkness, he's the Void in their hearts - and it's to him they are beholden. More disturbing is it, that from the suffering, anguish and regret he forces his victims through, he feeds off of their collective misery, and this misery gives rise to the power commanded by his Spirit Weapon. For each victim Hanzel utilizes The Dark against, his spirit weapon grows ever more powerful. Spirit Weapon Kerzen der Pein (嫉妬の炎, German for "Candles of Anguish", Japanese for "Flames of Jealousy"): Hanzel's Spirit Weapon is considered an oddity among other Quincy, for it doesn't manifest as a ranged weapon, or for that matter, a weapon at all. Hanzel's spirit weapon instead manifests as five lit candles, that float around him in a circle - slowly rotating about his axis. These candles burn with a strange purplish flame, that shed no light and emits not even a hint of heat. It's name, Kerzen der Pein, was chosen because these candles have an unique connection to The Dark. For whenever he uses the power of his Schrift, the resulting anguish and misery empowers his dormant spirit weapon. Each time it's used, the flames grow greater, and the larger the flame itself, the more powerful their abilities become. For without a doubt the greatest difference between Hanzel's spirit weapon and that his fellow Sternritters lies that it's powers are fuelled neither by reishi or reiryoku, but the sheer essence of misery that Hanzel has accumulated beforehand. Therefore, whenever time comes for him to utilize it in battle, he ensures that it's power has reached it's absolute peak beforehand. Typically by using his powers against innocents to harvest their inner demons for his use. There's one additional limitation to Kerzen der Pein however, for whenever he employs one of it's abilities a candle is blown out. And for as long as it remains blown out he cannot use that candle as a foci for their spells. To relight a candle is a conscious effort and one which requires a few seconds worth of time. This limited arsenal prevents Hanzel from completely obliterating a target with impunity - as he needs to keep track of the candles, utilizing their plethora of spells for offence, defense and utility. The arsenal of spells Hanzel can employ through the use of Kerzen der Pein is determined by several "states" or Zustands, as they're known in his tongue. Nacht (夜気, German for "Night", Japanese for "Stillness of Night" ) is the primary zustand employed by Hanzel for battle, it's highly versatile state which epitomizes the night, emphasizing the powers of darkness at the Quincy's command. The spells under the domain of Nacht all deal with shadows or darkness in one way or another, they comprise of offensive, defensive and utilitarian spells - and the zustand in and of itself confers upon Hanzel additional advantages of it's own. Although Hanzel rarely mutters the name of this state upon it's use, it's easy to identify as his candles disperse and reform instead as five pitch black ravens composed entirely of shadows, these familiars fly about his person and assist him in battle, although their primary role is not an offensive one, but one meant for support - because wherever they fly, a trail of artificial darkness follows. This darkness is not penetrated by light and can be used by Hanzel to perform ambushes and sneak attacks if he so chooses, but fundamentally, it's utilized by several of Nachts' formulas. The trails also allow the use of in the vicinity, which grants Hanzel a great deal of personal mobility and options in combat. Most of Nachts abilities seem to depend upon shadows in one way or another, although all of them are very powerful to compensate. *'Schattenschild' (影盾, German and Japanese for "Shadow Shield"): A powerful defensive ability granted by Nacht, Schattenschild wraps ambient shadows and darkness (including the trails left behind by the ravens) tightly around Hanzel, rendering him momentarily immobile but swallowing up any energy-based technique, spell or ability directed at him for as long as he keeps it active. This is essentially a nigh-instantenous form of Schatten, which redirects the attack through the shadow realm. But aside from it's obvious defensive measures, it provides another function altogether, as it absorbs negative influences from Hanzel himself, cleansing his body by bathing it in darkness. As for as long as the Schattenschild is active, Hanzel's very existence becomes darkness itself, once he reforms within this cocoon, he sheds previous effects an in some cases superficial injuries and sometimes emerges virtually unscathed. Certain members of the Sternritter have compared this to Hanzel shedding his skin in a manner similar to that of a serpent. Despite it's power, there's limitations to this spell, not the least being that it requires Hanzel to be immobilized to work, allowing a cunning foe to prepare themselves in the meantime if they've got advance knowledge of his abilities, the second of course, being that it's dependant on nearby shadows to use. *'Nachtrabe' (夜烏, German and Japanese for "Nightraven"): As the name implies, Nachtrabe involving using one of Nachts five ravens directly in combat. Upon chanting the name of the spell, Hanzel directs one or more ravens, having them move precisely as he dictates. Now under his direct control, Hanzel's energy suffuses their being and empowers them greatly; in the sense that the trail of darkness they left behind before, is replaced instead with pitch-black ice that forms on the ground beneath them in the wake of their flight - this ice doesn't represent any actual element, nor is it a manifestation of one, it's instead a spiritual reflection of the absence of light and heat, they're cold to the touch but despite how it might appear, the have little use in combat beyond controlling the environment or limiting battle space. Opponents are usually mislead to focus upon the ice, ignoring the ravens themselves, who present the true threat - as upon touching a living being, they cause the area struck to be shrouded in darkness. Represented by clingy pitch-black smoke that sticks to the affected body part and refuses attempts to remove it. Despite it's menacing appearance, this darkness is harmless on it's own, and the impact with the raven only causes the victim discomfort and chills their body somewhat, with no other negative implications to note. The true purpose of Nachtrabe is only revealed when Hanzel casts Verzehrende Dunkelheit. *'Aben Kette' (晩鎖, German and Japanese for "Evening Chain"): Among all of Nachts powers, Aben Kette is the most suitable to Hanzel's fighting style. As it's name implies, this spell condenses and solidifies ambient shadows or darkness into powerful chains of varying lengths, as the chains are forged, the material used to create them vanishes. Obeying Hanzel's will, these spectral restraints slither across the sky like serpents, overwhelming opponents with their sheer number and immobilizing them so that he might feed on their anguish through The Dark. They're responsive to his actions, as they, by his own admission, are manifested partly by the desire to grind against the hopes and desires of his foes, grounding them in the harsh reality that he himself has come to accept. Because of Hanzel's mastery of Schatten, these chains can be used to ambush unsuspecting opponents by navigating them down through his own shadow, and having them reappear from that of his opponent. The chains immediately latching onto them and usually pulling them downwards into their own shadow, before hurling them back to Hanzel. Allowing him to capture foes with ease, even key figures behind enemy lines. Even in the throes of heated battle, these chains move as extensions of his being, whipping through the air to lash at his opposition, deflecting attacks directed his way and gradually increasing in number as they gather supplies from the dark trails left behind by the ravens. *'Verzehrende Dunkelheit' (頂戴闇, German and Japanese for "Consuming Darkness"): By far the most powerful offensive spell in the entirety of Nacht's arsenal, Verzehrende Dunkelheit is cast by causing a raven to spontaneously combust to provide the necessary cost of the spell. Once this condition is fulfilled, Hanzel chooses a nearby area where the spell is to fully manifest; at this point, all darkness within the targeted location is stripped away and consumed by a growing sphere of black energy, which grows more and more unstable with each shadow it consumes, and it's at this point that Nachtrabe reveals it's cruel function, for any target it strikes is essentially marked for consumption by Hanzel's consuming darkness. Fortunate enemies might only have some of their extremities torn off, depending on how direct their contact with Nachtrabe is, but the truly unfortunate ones, who were hit in the chest will be annihilated outright, their sacrifice used to fuel the power of the spell. After a few seconds, or once it's grown to it's apex, the sphere implodes upon itself, creating an extremely powerful vacuum which serves to pull everything and anyone towards it's churning center, which Hanzel refers to as it's maw. Anyone who enters this black sphere are destroyed outright, ripped apart by innumerable forceful currents of chaotic energies, their bodies grinded into nothing. The sheer power of Verzehrende Dunkelheit is so tremendous that it's sufficient to cleanse entire towns off the face of the earth should it be cast within their borders, leaving only gaping craters and debris to their name afterwards. It's enormous destructive potential is however offset by the fact that it's not instatenous by any means, and the fact that the sphere cannot be stopped or halted in any way once it's begun feasting, not even by Hanzel himself. Although it's effects can be contained or sealed away. *'Nacht Teufel' (夜悪魔, German and Japanese for "Night Devil"): A powerful offensive spell, Nacht Teufel is nonetheless fairly unique in it's application. To cast it, Hanzel causes two of Nacht's ravens to combust as a tribute. Although this weakens his repertoire considerably, the spell is of far greater use to him than Verzehrende Dunkelheit is when fighting individual opponents of exceptional strength. Once the price has been paid, Hanzel speaks the name of the spell aloud and gestures towards his foe. Like it's name implies, this is a spell of conjuration, conjuring forth a strange otherworldly fiend composed entirely of partially corporeal shadows, this fiend emerges directly from, and is in fact an animation of the opponents own shadow, and thus constantly present at their side. Hanzel comments that it's a curse on the intermediate level, and one that presents a double threat to the subject, for whenever the victim attempts to use an energy based technique or even focus their energy in any way, the fiend lashes out with it's sharp claws at them, rending into flesh and potentially inflicting serious injury. Rather than being focused on killing the enemy as quickly as possible, the function of Nacht Teufel is to control the flow of battle by forcing the enemy to consider every ability they use in combat, as well as constantly keep them on guard. But the danger doesn't end there, for while the fiend can be destroyed by a sufficiently powerful attack, the connection established between it and the subject is intimate enough so as to reflect the same damage back on them, punishing them for their deed. But perhaps one of the most terrifying aspects of Nacht Teufel is it's immediate synergy with the consuming darkness, as the aforementioned spell can be cast using the shadow fiend as a direct foci, causing the spell to take effect at their opponents exact location. Although ordinarily only capable of doing direct harm to it's victim if they're affected by the clingy shadows of a night raven, the connection between the victim and the night devil is such that when it is destroyed through this spell, the victims body will be destroyed as well. For all this potency however, build up of consuming darkness is great enough that any opponent might destroy their devil in the meantime, although at risk to their own health and lifeforce, this is substantially better than annihilation all the same. Quincy: Vollständig Betzalel (神の影 (ベトザレル, Betozareru), Japanese for "Shadow of God"): To most Quincy, the Vollständig serves as the means through which they might extricate themselves from the world, a form of such blinding radiance that it appears as though they've assumed the form of angels or other celestial figures. Their bearing immediately becomes prouder and almost regal, as if the transformation alone sets them apart from lesser creatures. Wings typically form on their back and a halo appears above their head, further adding to their arrogance. Betzalel differs from that perspective, in that it doesn't assume the form of a white angel, glorious and awe-inspiring, no, it instead assumes a form that reflects the inherent darkness in man, soul and Hollow alike. Upon removing his Sanrei Glove when all five candles of Kerzen der Pein is alight and burning intensely, Hanzel is immediately enveloped in a shroud of darkness that spirals upwards into the shape of massive Quincy Cross. The shadows stretching for miles, blanketing the local area in total darkness for several seconds before the transformation is complete and he emerges in his ascended form. Upon unleashing his Quincy: Vollständig, every shred of Hanzel's former humanity is erased, assuming the shape of the void itself, in a humanoid form. His body seemingly composed entirely of writhing darkness, faceless save for two smoldering orbs of purple fire, with four wings composed entirely of a shadowy membrame and partially solid reishi. The light grows dim around him, the battlefield immediately darkening into what seems to be perpetual dusk. In this form, merely looking at Hanzel incites the effects of The Dark in their mind, and it's believed that only someone who can truly repent and understand the gravity of their own actions might stand a chance against him in this state, thus far, he's never once been touched, despite utilizing it to single-handedly slay more than a hundred Shinigami at one point. Appearantly, true courage, strength of character and understanding of ones responsibilities to oneself are qualities of such rarity that they might as well be considered mythical. Death is the mortal fear of all creatures alive, especially humans, yes, even Shinigami and Arrancar fear death, even if they've little reason to. For centuries, humans have feared oblivion, for it's uncertain, it's an unknown to them - in their desperation to lead a good life or as a way to overcome it, they've performed gruesome atrocities, all in the name of who they call "God". Even to this day, the cruelty brought about by fear and prejudice ravages the human world. Only in death are they freed of this insanity. This is the aspect of suffering that Betzalel draws it's immense power from, and the very embodiment of the concept itself. For all of these things were caused by the shadow of god, by ordinary people fearing many centuries of torment and driven to extreme lengths to avoid even the possibility of retribution. Let them practice their rhetoric, different ways of exercising their faith, but in the end, Betzalel shall come for them all. Wahre Dunkelheit (小声の世間, German for "True Darkness", Japanese for "World of Whispers"): This is Betzalel's primary power, the same power wielded by the Dark brought to it's absolute apex. Anything within Hanzel's artificial dusk is continuously subjected to The Dark for as long as they remain within, and due to the massive area effected, most are unable to leave, being swallowed up by their own conscience and left to wallow in despair, all hope of fighting to defend themselves erased and replaced with this feeling of all-consuming anguish. If Hanzel's Epithet ordinarily has the power to force others to look upon themselves and recognize themselves for what they are, then Wahre Dunkelheit has the power to strip away everything else but that selfsame misery - good memories and comforting emotions are drowned in the overwhelming darkness. They're made to hate themselves, to recognize themselves not as individuals but as filthy maggots crawling under the sun, everyone is scum in the eyes of a god after all. They hear whispers all around them, telling them they're worth nothing, that they are nothing. They hear voices of close friends and family, berating them, blaming them and hating them. They witness nightmarish visions, their worst moments ripped from their minds and made manifest in front of them. Like with his Epithet, Hanzel retains his ability to bind Hollows to his will. Although the scope of this power is empowered immensely as well, with any Hollow within his artificially created darkness feeling an overwhelming urge to throw itself at his mercy. Ordinary Hollows are dominated immediately, robbed of all sentient thought and swallowed up by Wahre Dunkelheits' greater will. Gillian are likewise dominated, Adjuchas have little choice but to obey him if he focuses upon them, even Vasto Lorde, the most powerful of all Hollows are usually only able to maintain a sliver of control over themselves, a sliver that is lost the moment he focuses on them for even a moment. Arrancar have the greatest chance to resist it's effects, though they too find it nigh-impossible to approach him for fear of having their minds dominated - even powerful Espada would do well to keep miles away from Betzalel. As even if they've got the strength of will to resist it's effects, they are ultimately helpless before it's power. For it pulls so strongly at their very being that it's impossible to resist for long. The most fearsome aspect of Wahre Dunkelheit however, is it's effects on beings such as Shinigami, whose existence is powered by their own sense of will, whose resolve empowers their spirit and drives them to achieve incredible feats. To them, Wahre Dunkelheit is an anathema - it dissolves their will, saps them of their resolve and eventually undermines their desire to go on. Their spirits eventually break under the strain, causing the soul to disperse on it's own. In this manner, Shinigami are erased in his presence, not by his hand, but by their own conviction shattering and beliefs breaking. Trivia *His profile picture was made by Zanpakuto Leader. Category:Character